(a) whether there is shortage of schools and teachers in proportion to the increase in the population of the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether lakhs of posts of teachers are lying vacant in schools in the country including in primary schools in backward and rural areas;

(d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor, State-wise; and

(e) whether the Government has prepared any scheme for filling up of these vacant posts and if so, the details thereof?

Answer:

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. SHASHI THAROOR)

(a) to (d):Since the inception of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a total of 1,95,003 primary schools and 98,130 upper primary schools have been sanctioned across the country to meet the requirement of increased enrolment of children in the 6-14 years age group. Under the SSA, 19.82 lakh teacher posts have been sanctioned so far, against which 12.86 lakh teachers have been recruited. The State-wise list of teachers sanctioned as well as recruited under the SSA is Annexed.

(e):The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009, stipulates that the prescribed pupil teacher ratio will be maintained in respect of every school. The States have, therefore, been advised to rationalize the deployment of teachers and expedite the recruitment of teachers against posts sanctioned under the SSA as well as the State sector vacancies to address the problem of teacher shortage and urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings.